


Burst

by DNAGraceless



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Non-graphic mentions of abuse, Referenced Child Abuse, Supportive Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-29 17:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17208110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DNAGraceless/pseuds/DNAGraceless
Summary: The signs were subtle, until suddenly they weren't





	Burst

The first time it had happened, Qrow had assumed he’d just surprised her. He knew sneaking up behind a highly trained specialist was a bad idea, but her balcony door was open and he couldn’t resist.

He’d shifted out on the balcony and crept inside, hearing her moving around on in the kitchen. She was in boy shorts and a training bra and her hair was neatly brushed and falling to her waist; she must have just got back from the gym. He came up behind her, putting a hand on her hip.

“Looking good, ice queen.”  
Winter had let out a small, shrill cry, spinning around and reaching for his wrist, going to bend it back. In a rare show of good luck Qrow managed to dodge her, getting a hold of her upper arms.

“Easy there, it’s just me.”  
It had only been a second before realisation set in, but the pure fear in her eyes rivalled anything he had seen in huntsmen’s eyes during battle.

“Fucking hell,” Winter said, letting out a breath and dropping her shoulders. She pushed him away. “Don’t do that! How did you get in?”  
“You left your balcony door open.” He pointed out towards the loungeroom, “Sorry. Are you okay?”  
“I’m fine,” She gave her standard answer. “What are you doing in Atlas?”  
“You said you had time off. I finished a job in Mistral early; thought I’d come and see you.”  
“Oh. You could have come in through the door.”  
“Yeah, sorry. Are you sure you’re okay?”  
“I’m fine, Qrow.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Do you want coffee?”  
“Yes please.”

Winter poured retrieved the black cup she’d bought just for him from her mostly barren shelf and poured his coffee, adding two sugars and a splash of milk. They moved to the living room and Winter closed and locked the balcony door.  

“What do you have time off for?” Qrow asked as she sat beside him.  
“There was a malfunction with the equipment for the ship upgrades.” Winter said, pulling her hair over her shoulder. He loved it when she wore her hair down. “I can’t start the work on Snow Bird until they identify the problem and the new shipment arrives.”

“So, they just gave you time off?”  
“I was supposed to have the time off; I volunteered to oversee the delivery and upgrades of the ships.”  
Qrow smirked.

“What?” Winter asked.

“You wanted to update the ship yourself didn’t you?”  
“What? No, don’t be ridiculous.”  
“You don’t trust the mechanics to update your ship.”  
“The mechanics are the ones who messed up the shipment!” She cried, almost spilling her coffee. Qrow chuckled.

“You’re such a control freak.”  
“Shut up.”

 

The second time had been on that same trip. He’d offered to make breakfast as Winter made their coffee. He’d moved his hand too fast to reach the plates in the cupboard by her head and she’d jerked away so hard she had smacked her hip into the counter.

“You okay?” He asked.

Winter nodded, steadying herself.

“What was that?”  
“Nothing.” She pulled the plates out and handed them to him. He saw the same terrified look in her face that he had seen the day before. Once again, he brushed it off.

 

 

The next time it happened, he hadn’t seen her in three months, resulting in being separated during their first anniversary. He’d been careful around her since but hadn’t given her behaviour much thought.

 They’d arranged to meet in a hotel in Vale, and he’d counted down the seconds until she would arrive.

She’d hugged him to tight he could barely breath, but he didn’t care. He was probably holding her just as tightly.

“I missed you so fucking much.” He muttered, pulling back just enough to kiss her. She dropped her bag by the door and he led her to the bedroom, pulling off each other’s clothes. He pulled the tie our of her hair, letting the long fair locks fall down her back. Winter kissed him deeply as they got to the room. He kissed her neck, his hand in her hair. He kicked the door shut and pushed her up against it.

“ _Stop!_ ” She screamed into his ear.

Qrow was suddenly on the floor at the end of the bed, pain bursting from where Winter had shoved him away and the back of his head from hitting the floor. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he looked over at her. She’d fallen to the base of the door in her bra and pants, her legs tangled together as she breathed heavily tears streaming down her face and her hands shaking as she pulled at her hair.

“Hey, hey are you okay?” He asked, sitting up and moving over to her. Winter flinched, and he retracted the hand. Sitting back, Qrow tried to assess the situation.

“Okay, I’m not going to get any closer alright?”  
Winter nodded slightly after a minute, taking shallow, shaky breaths.

“Are you in pain?” He asked. Winter shook her head no.

“Here,” Qrow held out one of his button-up shirts. Winter put it on, holding it closed.

“Try and take some deep breaths; I’m not going to touch you.”  
Winter swallowed thickly and tried to control her breathing. Once her heart stopped racing, he moved to the bathroom, grabbing some tissues and offering them from a safe distance. Winter took them and wiped her face.

“Do you want to go back out to the loungeroom?” Qrow asked.

Winter nodded again and he waited for her to stand. She moved away from the door as he slowly and carefully opened it, making sure she could see what he was doing and leading them out into the loungeroom. Winter sat up the other end, pulling her legs to her chest.

“Do you want to talk about what just happened?” Qrow asked softly, giving her the option to refuse.

Winter didn’t answer for a long time, and Qrow started to think about where to go from there.

“It was nothing,” Winter said softly. Qrow suppressed a sceptical look.

“That wasn’t nothing. I’ve never seen you so afraid. Did something happen?”  
Winter looked away, pulling her legs tighter to herself.

“Did it happen on the job?”  
Winter shook her head slightly, still refusing to look at him. Qrow felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“Was it an ex?”  
Winter shook her head again and he heard her sniffling and her breathing grow shaky as she began to get worked up again.  
“Winter, you just had a panic attack. Has that happened before?”  
Winter shrugged and Qrow ran a hand through his hair. He moved to the floor in front of her.

“Can I hold your hand?”  
Winter hesitated and nodded. Qrow gently took her still shaking hand, rubbing his thumb over it.

“Win, baby, what happened?”  
Winter took a shuddering breath, wiping her face. She muttered something Qrow didn’t quite catch.

“What was that?”  
“My parents,” She said through the tears. Qrow felt his blood running cold before it began to boil.

“What did they do?”  
“What didn’t they do,” She mumbled, wiping the faucet of tears. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“They hurt you?”  
Winter hesitated and nodded.

“I’m so sorry Winter.”  
“It’s not your fault.”  
“Still, that wasn’t fair, you never should have gone through that.”  
Winter shrugged slightly, “It was me or them,”

Qrow frowned. “You or who?”  
Winter didn’t answer and Qrow sighed.

“Weiss and Whitley,” He said softly. Winter closed her eyes and nodded.

“Did they hit you?”  
She nodded again, and he handed her more tissues. “I… Jacques always had a temper. It became worse when the White Fang became more… aggressive. He’d yell at them, but I was the only one he would touch. I guess my mother thought that was a good compromise.” She added in a whisper.

“Did she ever…” He trailed off, and Winter nodded once again.

“After the drinking started. I was older then, but I didn’t fight Jacques; the longer he was beating me the longer he’d stay away from them. But Willow… it was personal for her. She blamed me for ruining her life. I could never follow her logic but… but she _hated_ me. I could barely walk after they were done.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, I should have been more careful.”  
Winter wiped her eyes. “You didn’t know.”  
“I’m still sorry you had to go through that.”

“Don’t be.” She squeezed his hand back.

“Can I sit next to you?”  
Winter nodded and gave him a small smile. He moved and sat beside her.  
“Can I hug you?”  
Winter leaned forward and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest. Qrow hugged her back carefully, rubbing her back and fighting every instinct to fly to Schnee manor and beat the ever-loving shit out of Jacques and Willow Schnee. Willow might have once been a great huntress, but he reckoned he could take her now. And Jacques was a little bitch.

“I’m sorry,” Winter mumbled into his shoulder.

“Don’t be,” He kissed her hair, “don’t ever apologise for that.”  
“I love you,” She said, and he could hear the tears and insecurity in her voice.

“I love you too,” He said back. “I love you,”  
Winter pulled back, wiping her eyes. Qrow brushed her hair out of her face.  
“You know you can tell me that stuff, right?” He said, taking her hand in both of his. He’d told her a fair bit about the tribe, and it surprised him it took this long for this issue to come to light.

“I know. I just… I’m not used to being open about these things.”  
“Yeah I know,” He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. “Whenever you’re ready.”  
“I know.” She hugged him again. Qrow wasn’t sure how long they laid there, Qrow playing with her hair and Winter playing with his necklace. He didn’t notice so much time had passed until he noticed the orange glow of sunset over the city. He felt Winter shift on his chest and look up at him

“Do you want to have sex now?”  
Qrow raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…”  
“Why not?” Winter sat up, sitting across his lap and kissing him.

“Are you sure about this?” Qrow asked before she kissed him again. Winter slipped off his shirt, dropping it to the floor.

“Absolutely,”  
Qrow was silent for a second, thinking it over in his head.

“Okay let’s go.” He stood up, throwing her over his shoulder and walking into the bedroom, Winter laughing over his shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a little thing that just came to me. I hope you like it and let me know what you think!


End file.
